Cutting Boards - Part 4

I was so glad that the kitchen boards are finished already that I forgot to write a planned article about assembling the boards with handles. Thus I write it now.

To drill holes in the edges of the boards I made a template from black locust wood, a steel pipe with an inner diameter of 6 mm, and a 6 mm aluminum rod. The construction is simple – at approximately 50 mm distance there are two aluminum pins in the wooden prism. Halfway between them is the steel tube. When put on the edge of a board the template can be twisted until both aluminum pins touch it. The steel pipe is then centered on its side. With a hand-held drill, it is possible to drill a hole in the edge of the board that is both centered and square.

I used epoxy as a glue but I did not use too much. Essentially, I just filled the notches in the handle ends. It might even be enough just to press the handles into predrilled holes and the notches would provide enough holding force. The glue is just a safety.

As expected, gluing the handles together before was a mistake. To drill both holes in the boars at exact distances was not exactly easy and the handles needed some percussive persuasion to get in. To protect them from damage I hit them over a piece of old felt carpet. One handle broke and I needed to redo it but the remaining six ones were no trouble. Next time I will not glue the handles together before full assembly and there should be no trouble at all.

Also I might make the handles from just one piece of 6 mm steel, it would be less work. Although I must say that I like how the the wooden handles look.